The present invention is directed to a conveyer, and more particularly, to a support plate for a conveyor having integrated rollers to promote travel along a desired path by reducing torsional, load bearing, and resistive forces on the conveyor.
Conveyors are subjected to many forces when transporting products along a path. Helical conveyor systems, for example, are common in a wide variety of industries as they provide an efficient means through which to move products, parts, and the like over vertical distances. However, when traversing a spiraled path between vertical distances, these helical conveyer systems are subjected to a variety of forces. For example, during operation, these systems are subjected to torsional forces caused by following the spiraled path, vertical loading forces caused by following a vertically ascending or descending path, and horizontal loading forces caused by following the horizontal component of the path. These forces can be further compounded when carrying significant loads and especially when encountering a build-up of debris along the spiraled path. Over time, these forces can cause significant wear on the helical conveyor system and/or interfere with the operation of the conveyor system.
In an effort to reduce the stresses associated with these forces, various bearing designs have been utilized. For example, some helical conveyor systems employ a base chain arranged on the spiraled path that includes bearings mounted thereon to create an interface between the base chain and the spiraled path. In some cases, these bearings may be roller bearings mounted on the base chain to engage the spiraled path and reduce frictional forces between the base chain and the spiraled path. While these bearing systems mounted to the base chain can reduce some torsional, vertical, and horizontal forces, the base chain forms but a small portion of the overall helical conveyor system and, thus, significant forces are still applied to the overall helical conveyor system. Accordingly, significant power is required to overcome these forces and move the helical conveyor along the spiraled path and significant wear is incurred over time.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system to further reduce torsional, frictional, and loading forces on a conveyor system traveling along a path.